Van de Graaff generator
[van duh graf]
- a device for producing high-voltage static electricity.
Origin of Van de Graaff generator
1935–40; named after R. J. Van de Graaff (1901–66), American physicist
Also called electrostatic generator.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Van de Graaff generator
- a device for producing high electrostatic potentials (up to 15 million volts), consisting of a hollow metal sphere on which a charge is accumulated from a continuous moving belt of insulating material: used in particle accelerators
Word Origin
C20: named after R. J. Van de Graaff (1901–67), US physicist
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Van de Graaff generator
- A type of electrostatic generator used to build up static electrical charge of very high voltages by transferring electric charge from a power supply to a spherical metal terminal. A high-voltage source transfers charge to a nonconducting conveyor belt, usually made of silk or rubber, which continuously redeposits the charge on the insulated metal terminal, where it accumulates. Even small Van de Graaff generators can accumulate a static charge of 100,000 volts; the largest, up to 10 million volts.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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